Supreme Court Orders Release of Duma Minor to House Arrest

Jewish activist protesting outside the court where a hearing on the Duma investigation is being held. His sign reads: "Don't torture me.'

Supreme Court Justice Ofer Grosskopf rejected the state’s appeal and paved the way for the release from detention to house arrest of the minor defendant in the Duma trial.

The State Attorney’s Office filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision of the District Court, which last week ordered the minor’s release to house arrest under severe restrictive conditions, including an ankle monitor and supervision.

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Defense attorney Zion Amir stated that “undoubtedly, the rejection of the state’s appeal by the Supreme Court was done lawfully and justly. Despite the fact that two and a half years of a long and penetrating legal battle have passed, we can be comforted by two things: first, the release of the detainee; and second, the court’s determination regarding the revocation of the confessions by the minor which were given under torture during his interrogations, disallowing confessions collected with such improper means.”

“I very much hope that the State Prosecutor’s Office will learn and internalize the position expressed in the decisions of the District Court and the Supreme Court, and will consider canceling the proceedings or at least the decisive part of said proceedings perpetrated against the minor,” Amir said.

Attorney Adi Keidar of the Honenu legal aid society added that “the state’s appeal should not have been presented at all, as it represents the State Prosecutor’s Office’s persecution and continued torture of the minor, and especially shows the prosecution’s lack of internalization of and failure to accept the preliminary ruling of the court.”

“The Supreme Court accepts our arguments, as initially determined by the District Court, and determines that the ruling in the preliminary trial creates a real erosion of the strength of the evidence [against the minor defendant], especially regarding the more serious charges,” Keidar said, promising: “After the disqualification of the evidence which constituted the successful termination of the first stage of this trial, we are now ready to proceed with this case until the minor’s absolute acquittal.”